v.1 Before Paul continues to tell his fellow Jews of their rejection, he tells them of his concern for them. Though they were Paul's bitter persecutors, his desire is that they might be saved. We must never wish any thing less, even for our bitterest enemies!

v.2 Paul praises them for their religious zeal though it is misdirected. They were zealous about their traditions and about obtaining their own righteousness, instead of zealous to obey God and receive His Gospel. Like Paul we must always see all the good in others that there is to see, and when we have to rebuke them we must begin first by admitting what is good.

v.3 The Jews were ignorant of God's righteousness that He had provided for them through faith in Jesus Christ (1CO 1:30). So they tried to establish their own righteousness instead of accepting Christ's substitutionary righteousness.

v.4 Christ is the end of the law in the sense that He is the fulfillment of the many types and prophecies in the Law.

Christ is also the end of the law in the sense that He fulfilled all demands of the law in His righteous life and therefore our fulfillment of the law as a means of salvation ceases (COL 2:14).

v.5 The nature of law is such that perfect obedience to every point of the law is required to satisfy it (GAL 3:10). A perfect man who breaks one single law becomes an outlaw. Such obedience is obviously impossible for sinful men.  

v.6 Unlike the impossible task of being perfectly righteous, God has provided an attainable means of salvation. In other words, one is not required to ascend into heaven to bring Christ down.

v.7 Neither are we required to descend into the deep to find a Savior. In other words, it is not difficult or impossible to be saved.

v.8 Contrary to being impossible, God's salvation is so easily available.

v.9 Salvation simply consists of an outward profession which results from an inward trust in the Lord. To confess that Jesus is the Lord is to acknowledge Him as such in our lives and not to merely profess it with our mouths (MAT 7:22).

v.10 When we believe in the heart that the Lord Jesus Christ has died for our sins we receive His righteousness (1CO 1:30). One who really believes in his heart what the Lord Jesus did for him, cannot help but confess with his mouth that God has saved him.  

v.11 Quote from ISA 28:16. Whosoever, whether Jews or Gentiles, that believeth on him shall not be ashamed (ie, disappointed) because he will surely be saved.

v.12 The reason why both Jews and Greeks can be saved is because the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.           

v.l3 The five basic steps in the process of salvation (from the human standpoint) are given in v.13-15. The steps are given in the reverse order, ie, process of salvation actually begins at verse 15. God chooses to use the all-encompassing word (ie, whosoever) because if He had said "Paul Choo" instead I might wonder if it refers to another person with the same name as me - because how could a sinner like me be so simply saved? Then God chooses the simplest method for a man to be saved, ie, “call" to God for help to be saved.  There is nothing easier and more natural than to call for help - even a baby calls for help when he needs help from hunger, discomfort, fear or pain. God promises that whosoever calls to the Lord shall be saved - and God never lies (TIT 1:2).

v.14 Obviously, one will not call for help unless one believes there is the possibility that there is someone to help. And one cannot really call for help, unless one is convinced that that person is both willing and able to help. Picture a man standing at the window of the fifteenth-story of a burning building. If he believes that there are competent firemen with a trampoline somewhere below, then he will shout for them to catch him as he leaps out to safety below. Many people do not know that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is waiting to save them from their sins, so they cling to their own righteousness though they really know that it is hopeless.

The word "heard" is to be understood in a wider sense, ie, it includes reading. It is obviously difficult to put your trust in someone that you do not really know. Therefore, the way to have faith in someone is to be well informed about him. For example, if you are asked to put your trust in a surgeon for a life-saving operation, the way to increase your faith in him is not by an effort of your mind, but by finding out more about him, eg. checking his track-record. Therefore, the way to help one who is struggling to trust in the Lord is to tell him more about the Lord.

God has ordained that normally man will not know the Gospel by supernatural means, but that he needs to be told about it, or given a tract or a Bible to read, by a preacher. The Bible does not say that he must be a seminary-trained, ordained, talented or powerful preacher. Most of us were led to the Lord by the simple witness of an "unqualified" preacher!  Every Christian is bound by his gift, training and opportunity to preach the Gospel - this will range from giving out a tract, writing a letter, sharing a simple testimony and witness, to powerfully preaching the Gospel.

v.15 We will never really preach effectively unless we know that God has sent us on this vital mission to preach to all those whom we have the opportunity to. Otherwise, we will lack the sense of responsibility to preach diligently, the faithfulness to preach His Gospel in His way, and the assurance that He will enable us and reward us as we go about His work. Do you know that you are sent by God to preach the Gospel?

"How beautiful are the feet" means "how delightful the approach."

v.16 The gospel must be obeyed, because God commands it as the only way of salvation. Therefore, to reject the Gospel is to disobey God.

Though the Gospel should be preached to all men, yet Isaiah had predicted that not all would believe, especially the Jews. In fact so few Jews believed, that Isaiah asks "who hath believed our report?"

v.l7 Faith in Jesus Christ must be based on knowledge of who He is, and what He has done - as revealed in the word of God. Therefore, the more we hear about Him, the stronger will be our faith in Him.

v.18 Verses 14 and 15 had spoken of the need to preach to all, now Paul says that indeed this had already happened – the Gospel was for the first time in history being widely preached in Gentile territories.

v.19 Did not Israel know that the Gentiles would receive salvation. Moses saith in DEU 32:21, that God in response to their rejection of Him for idols would reject them for Gentiles (who in the Jewish mind, were no people). Because the Gentiles were not instructed by the Law, they were a foolish nation as far as morals and spiritual matters were concerned. The Jews had provoked Him to jealousy and anger by worshipping false gods, so God would provoke them to jealousy and anger by accepting Gentiles.

v.20 Isaiah states very boldly that the Gentiles had found God though, unlike the Jews, they had not sought after Him. God was made manifest (ie, revealed) unto the Gentiles that asked not after him. Even today it is true that it is the "sinners" trust in the Lord as their SAvior, rather than “religious people.”

v.21 It was not God who had rejected the Jews, on the contrary, all day long he had stretched forth His hands (ie, a gesture of invitation, extending a welcome) unto the Jews, but they were disobedient to accept His offer in the Gospel, because they were gainsaying (ie, obstinate).